Creating Your Skincare Routine 101

There are countless skincare products on the market. While it may be clear what each one is for, it can be hard to formulate a plan for a skincare routine that puts them in an order that you will benefit from the most. You don’t have to worry anymore! Here at Essentique, we care about our products doing all they can for your skin, and a key part of that is applying them in the right order. When creating a routine, the most important thing to keep in mind is to move from the lightest to the heaviest textures. To keep your skin light and fresh, and to allow products to absorb properly, you should avoid weighing it down with thicker moisturizers and masks before treating it with lighter toners or serums.

The first step, of course, is cleansing. Whether you wear makeup or not, cleansing in the morning and at night is crucial to having happy skin, free of dirt and pollutants. When you wake up in the morning, freshen your face with a gentle wash or cream cleanser to get yourself ready to face your day. The most important cleansing, though, happens at night before going to bed. You may have heard of double cleansing from some skincare gurus, and we’re here to encourage you to do it! Double cleansing is the process of using two cleansers, one oil-based and one water-based, in order to rid your skin of different kinds of dirt. Oil-based cleansers, like Essentique’s Lumin8, help eliminate oil based dirt, makeup, sunscreen, and various kinds of pollutants. To follow up, water- or gel-based cleansers, like Essentique’s upLift, get rid of water-based dirt and dead skin cells, leaving your face vibrant, clean, and ready for the rest of your routine.

If you’re treating your skin to a deeply cleansing and refreshing experience, the next steps are an exfoliant and a masque. These two go together — the exfoliant buffs away dead skin cells to create soft and smooth skin that is ready for a deeper treatment, and then the masque finishes by drawing excess oil out and nourishing the skin. For a great exfoliant, check out Luminescence — the walnut shell powder scrubs away dead skin, leaving your hands and face feeling silky smooth. Follow it up with a masque. If you’re looking for smooth and toned skin, look no farther than our Clean Clay masque. The Vipaka face pack cools, soothes, and hydrates, stimulating circulation and supporting healthy, glowing skin. Or, do exfoliation and masque in one with Pumpkin Peel, which works by dissolving dead skin cells while delivering vitamins and minerals to the skin. Both options work like a charm! However, the exfoliant and masque combination is not recommended for everyday use — treat your skin to this 1-2 times a week.

Toners like Bloom are an important next step to tighten pores and balance the pH of the skin. A day of activity can leave the face unbalanced, and using a toner can work wonders to improve complexion, tighten pores, and overall nourish the skin.

Follow your toner up with a serum. Serums are light, water- or gel-based products designed to get below the top layer of skin and infuse the face with their preventative and corrective qualities. Spot-treatment serums like R3 help to eliminate scarring and wrinkles and can prevent acne, so don’t skip this step in your routine! A more general serum, like Petale, contains antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, and hydrators that minimize wrinkles and fine lines (especially around the eyes and mouth), regulate skin pigmentation, and nourish your skin.

Next, the beloved moisturizer. This is usually the product people are most familiar with when designing a skincare routine — it is great for providing moisture to the top layer of skin and protecting it from the elements. For dry skin, a richer cream moisturizer helps prevent the skin from drying out. Oilier skin types can benefit from a lightweight lotion moisturizer to keep the face matte and prevent the overproduction of oils. Check out our Elevate moisturizer for a luxurious treatment that will keep the skin happy and radiant. Line-Break hydrates, nourishes, and blurs lines, leaving you with super smooth skin. All that’s left is to follow up with some sun protection!

What has been laid out for you is the ideal skincare routine. In addition to all of this, it is important to pay attention to your skin’s exposure to the sun. Sun exposure, as long as it is limited enough that it doesn’t cause color change on the skin is a beneficial source of vitamin D. Tanning, however, is damaging for the skin (speeds up aging and decreases elasticity), soit is essential to protect skin from the sun. I, personally, am not a fan of sunscreens, so I usually choose to wear a hat or simply to limit my exposure. If you choose to wear a sunscreen, do not use a sunscreen that is mixed into a moisturizer, as products like those will neither moisturize nor protect from the sun very well. Instead, apply your normal moisturizer and then follow it with an SPF lotion on top.

Your skin is the front you put out to the world, and it is crucial to keep it happy, healthy, and radiant. Great skincare is a mindfulness practice and a good way to make time for yourself, while also taking care of your body. So don’t skimp on the skincare, and refresh and nourish yourself along with your beautiful face.